Speed control means for spinning machines



Aug. 13, 1935. I e. R. TOWNSEND' 2,011,023

SPEED CONTROL MEANS FOR SPINNING MACHINES Filed April 6, 1955 lhventor':

Geor'ge R. Townsend is Attorney.

1 speed for the spindle.

most desirable operating efficiency during wind- Patented Aug. 13, 1935 PATENT OFFICE 2,011,023 SPEED CONTROL MEANS FOR SPINNING MAornNEs George R. Townsend, Schenectady, Y., assignor to GeneralElectric Company, a corporation of New York Application April 6, 1935,.Serial No. 15,145

' 14 Claims. ((31.11-8-32) My invention relates to speed controlling means for ring spinning machines and the like, more particularly to means for automatically varying the speed of the spinning machine during the formation of a warp-wound bobbin, and has for an object the provision of simple and'reliable means for varying the speed to give a high operating efficiency. i

As is well understood in the 'art, in a warp-wind- I ing operation the bobbin is built up on the spindle in a plurality of cylindrical layers, and it is an inherent characteristic of ring spinning machines that the tension on the yarn varies inversely with the diameter of the bobbin, assuming a constant In order to obtain the ing, the speed of the spindle should be varied so as to maintain a substantially constant tension on the yarn while operating at all times at the highest permissible speed. i i

For warp-winding operation it is desirable that at the beginning of the first layer, the spindle should be driven at a minimum. speed, say for example, 70% of full speed. As the winding of the first layer progresses, this speed may be graduallyincreased until at a point approximately of the distance along the spindle a maximum speed of say 80% is reached, Thismaximum speed should then be maintained until the winding has progressed about $6 of the distance along the spindle and should then gradually be reduced to the minimum speed. This cycle of speed control is repeated as each layer is wound on the spindle, butas the diameter of the bobbin increases with each layer the minimum speed utilized at the ends of each layer as well as the maximum speed maintained along the major portion of each wind, should be gradually increased so that on the outermost layer the speed change along the-traverse will vary from say 90% to 100% instead of from 70% to 80%. In other words, the base speed should gradually be raised as the diameter of the bobbin increases. Accordingly, it is a further object of my invention to provide automatic speed control means for varying the speed of the spinning machine through a definite cycle, during each traverse of the spindle while gradually increasing the base speed in accordance with the progressively inv creasing diameter of the bobbin.

@In carrying out my invention in one' form, I

"provide speed control means mounted on and oseillatable with anelement of'the ,machine oscillating in accordance with the relative oscillating movement between the ring rail and the spindle,

the ring rail H is oscillated relative to the spindle as disclosed and broadly claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 15,144, filed April 6, i935 and allowed June 1'7, 1935, which application is to issue concurrently with the present application. This speed "controlling means comprises cam means driven in accordance with the oscillating movement of the element of the machine oscillating in accordance with the relative oscillatingmovernent between the ring rail and spindle for varying the speed of the machine through a predetermined cycle during each traverse of the ring rail along the spindle, and cam means driven by an element of the machine progressively movable as the diameter of the bobbin increases, for gradually raising the base speed of the cycle of speed changes produced by the first cam means. More specifically, I provide a control arm driven by the first cam means and connected to suitable speed-varying means by a transmitting cable. An intermediate portion of the cable is looped around a plurality of sheaves, relative movement of the sheaves being accomplished by the second cam means in order to vary the length of the loop and thereby vary the oncetive length of the cable. The speed-varying means is thus operated to raise the base speed without affecting the cycle of speed changes produced by the first cam means. i Q

For a more complete understanding of my invention, reference should now be had to the drawing, the single figure of which illustrates somewhat diagrammatically speed control means embodying my invention applied to a typical ring spinning machine.

Referring now to the drawing, for purposes of clarity, only the essential elements of the spinhing machine directly cooperating with the speedvarying means are shown. In this particular machine the spindle Ill is fixed in position, while as the winding operation proceeds. Obviously, however, the ring rail may be stationary and the spindle given a corresponding movement.

In order to simplify'the drawing as much as possible, I have shown the ring railin a conventional manner as being operated through a lever i2 pivoted at 13, one end of the lever being 0on nected to the lower end of a rod let, the upper end of which is secured to the ring rail. The other end of the lever I2 carries a weight l5 for rais- 5D ing the ring rail, and the lever I2. is operated against the force exerted by the weight I5 by means of a flexible cable 16 one end of which is attached to a segmental arm I! on the lever l2.

As shown, the other end of the flexible cable is 5 connected to a builder mechanism indicated generally by the reference numeral 58. This builder mechanism is of a well-known commercial type and comprises a builder lever i9 pivoted at 2B and having an extending pin or roller 2! arranged to be engaged by a builder cam 22. It will be understood, of course, that the builder cam 22 as well as the spindle 59 are arranged to be rotated by suitable driving connections, not shown, connecting them respectively to an electric motor 23 which forms the driving means for the entire machine.

The cable 66 for operating the ring rail H is connected, as shown, to one end of a segmental rack bar 24 slidable in segmental guide ways 25 on the builder lever l9. In order to move the segmental rack 2t relative to the builder lever 59, there is provided a worm gear 28 mounted on a worm shaft 2's rotatably journaled in bearings on the builder lever and provided with a ratchet wheel 28 arranged to cooperate with a fixed pawl 29 to advance the segmental rack one step each time that the builder lever is oscillated about its pivot 26. It will be apparent now that the builder lever constitutes an element of the machine which oscillates in accordance with the relative oscillatory movement between the ring rail and the spindle, and that the segmental rack which moves one step each time that a forward and return layer is wound on the spindle constitutes an element of the machine which is progressively movable in accordance with the increasing diameter of the bobbin.

In the position shown in the drawing the segmental rack 26 is in its extreme right-hand position corresponding to the completely wound condition of the bobbin, and it will be understood that at the beginning of the winding operation the segmental rack 23 will be in its extreme lefthand position extending outwardly from the end of the builder lever E9. The principal function of this segmental'rack 24 in the conventional ring spinning machine is to shorten the relative traverse movement of the ring rail each time that the builder lever i9 oscillates, and it will be apparent that this shortening is accomplished by reason of the fact that the segmental rack 24 moves toward the pivot point 26 as the winding process proceeds, thereby shortening the are 1 through which the end of the segmental rack to which the cable 46 is attached will oscillate.

It will be understood that themechanism thus far described is old in the art and is shown as typical of ring spinning machines for the purpose of a clearer understanding of the invention. Obviously, however, the invention is applicable to spinning machines having structures different from that shown.

While any suitable variable-speed driving motor 23 may be used in accordance with my invention, a three-phase sli -ring induction motor is shown. The speed of this motor is controlled by means of a rheostat 39 shown as having three resistances 3!, 32 and 33 connected respectively in the rotor circuits of the motor and being variable by means of a rotatable contact device 34 having three arms cooperating respectively with the resistances.

As shown, the contact member 3 is normally biased by means of a spring 35 to a position in which all of the resistances 3!, 32 and 33 are respectively connected in the rotor circuit and 'is adapted to be operated from that position in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in the drawing, by a cable 35 one end of which is secured to a drum 37 secured to the contact member 3d.

The cable 36 serves to transmit to the speedcontrol rheostat 38 the motion imparted to suitable control levers by the previously described operating parts of the builder mechanism and as shown, an intermediate portion of the cable is looped about supporting means comprising a pair of coaxial sheaves 38, only one of which is visible in the drawing, and a spaced sheave 39, the other end of the cable 36 being secured to the free end of a control arm it. The control arm 48 is pivoted on a fixed pin ii carried by a supporting member 2 2 which may be part of the machine frame. Rigidly secured to the builder lever 59 and oscillatable therewith is a cam 43 having inclined faces Ml and 45 and an arcuate face 36, each point of which is radially equidistant from the pivot point 29. These cam faces are arranged to engage a pin or roller 47 carried by the control arm 49 in order to move the control arm about its pivot as the builder lever I9 is oscillated and thereby move the cable 36 longitudinally to rotate the contact member 34 and vary the speed of the motor 23.

Carried by the segmental rack 24 is a pin or roller 68 arranged to engage a cam face 49 on a bell crank lever 55! which is pivoted on a pin carried by the builder lever E9, the other end of the bell crank lever being provided with a slot 52 for adjustably supporting the sheave 39. It will be apparent that as the segmental rack 24 moves relative to the builder lever is, the pin 48 will engage the cam face 53 to rotate the bell crank lever 50 in a counterclockwise direction about the pin 5! and the sheave 39 will be thereby moved away from the sheaves 38 so as to increase the length of the loop in the cable 36 and shorten the effective length of the cable extending between rheostat 3i] and the control arm 30.

In the drawing the apparatus is shown in the position corresponding to the completion of a winding operation. and in order to describe the operation, it will be assumed that the segmental rack 24 has been moved to its extreme left-hand position, which may be accomplished by man ually rotating the ratchet wheel 28. With the segmental rack in this left-hand position, it will be apparent that the bell crank lever 50 will have rotated in a clockwise direction about the pivot 5! from the position shown so as to maintain the cam face 49 in engagement with the pin 58 and accordingly, the sheaves 38 and 39 will be closely adjacent each other. This will result in a very short length of loop in the cable 38, and the spring 35 will thereupon rotate the contact member 34 in a clockwise direction to a position in which substantially all of the resistances 3|, 32 and 33 are connected in the rotor circuit of the motor. For the purposes of this description it will be assumed that this position of the contact member 34 corresponds to the minimum speed at which it is desired to start the winding operation.

When the motor 23 is energized, by closing suitable control switches (not shown), the cam 22 will begin to rot-ate and the builder lever I9 will be rotated in a clockwise direction about its pivot 26 by the counterweight 53 which serves to maintain the roller 2! in engagement with the cam 2'2. As the builder lever it rotates, the pin ii will ride up the cam face 34 on the cam 43, and the control arm iii will be moved in a counterclockwise direction about its pivot, thereby rotating the contact member 34 in a counteradjusted will be raised. Therefore, it will be apparent that when the winding operation is clockwise direction ta ent a portion of the re sistances 31, 32 and 33-out of the motor circuit and increase the speed-of the motor. The speed of the motor will thus be gradually increased until the pin 41 engages the cam face 45. It will be remembered that this cam face 16 is at all points equidistant from the pivot pin 20 and accordingly, the control arm will not be moved during the time that the pin '41 is engaged by the cam face 46 and accordingly, the motor speed wince held constant. As the builder lever l9 approaches the end of its'travel, however, the

pin 4i will move down the cam'face G5 and the control arm 40 will move in a clockwise direction, whereupon the spring 35 will return the contact member 34 to its starting position, thereby gradually decreasing thespeed of the motor,

When the builder lever l9 reaches the upper limit of its travel, the fixed pawl 29 will be engaged by the ratchet wheel 28 and the worm 26 will thereupon be operated to move the segmental rack 24 slightly to the right, whereby the pm $8 which is engaged by the cam face 49 will rotate the bell cranklever sfl slightly in a counterclockwise direction so as to move the sheave 39 away from the sheaves 38 and thereby lengthen the loop in the cable 38. This slight increase in the length of the loop will shorten the effective length of the cable 36 and causethe contact member 34 to be rotatedslightly in a counterclockwise direction, whereby the basespeed a is slightly increased. It will be understood, of

,. the apparatus will be in the course, that while the builder lever moves between its two extreme positions each time that a layeris wound on the bobbin, the segmental rack 2! moves between its two extreme positions only during the time which is consumed in the complete winding operation.

At the end of the complete winding operation position shown in the drawing, in which position the sheave 39 has been moved a considerable distance from the sheaves 38,'and it will be seen that when the pin 41 engages the lowest portion of the cam face 44, the contact arm 34 is in a position to cut "out a considerable portion of each of the resistances 31, 32 and 33. Consequently, the speed change produced by the control arm 40 when actuated by the cam 43, varies the speed of the motor between say and rather than between the lower limits of say 70% and 80% which were obtained at the beginning of the winding operation.

It may be desirable in order to provide for winding different quality yarns, to be able to adjust the minimum speed of the machine. This may be accomplished by moving the sheave 30 longitudinally of the slot 52. It will be observed that when the apparatus is in its final position shown, the slot 52 will constitute the arc of a circle having the pivot point 20 as a center and accordingly, the sheave 39 may be shifted along ,the slot 52 without varying the length of the loop. From this it will be apparent that the maximum speed obtained at the end of the winding operation will be the same regardless of the position of sheave 39 relative to the slot 52. However, when the bell crank lever 50 is rotated about its pivot 5| to its initial position, it willbe observed that the left-hand end of the slot 52 will be farther from the pivot point 20 than the right-hand end of the slot '52 and accordingly, if thesheave 39 is secured inthe lefthand end of the slot,the loop will be lengthened and the initial speed for which theappar-atus between 70% and.80% as itwill be when the sheave is in the right-hand end of the slot.

While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, it will be understood,-of course, that I do not wish to be limitedthereto since many modifications'may be made and I, there fore, contemplate by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for controlling the speed of'a ring spinning machine or the like, comprising means for varying the speed of the machine, a transmitting cable secured atone end tosaid speedvarying means, means controlled by an element of the machine oscillating in accordance-with the relative oscillatory movement of the ring rail and the spindle for moving said cable to control said speed-varying means, and means acting on said cable intermediate said last-mentioned. means and said speed-varying means for moving a, por-. tion only of said cable to control said speed-vary: ing means in accordance with the progressively increasing diameter of the bobbin.

2. Apparatus for controlling the speed of a ring spinning machine or thelike, comprising means for varying the speed of the machine, cam means driven in accordance with the relative.os-. cillatory movement between the ring. rail and the spindle, means driven by said cam means including a transmitting cable for operating said speed-. varying means, and means acting on a portion only of said cable for operating said speedevarying means in accordance with the progressively increasing diameter of the bobbin independently of the'operation imparted by said cam means.

3. Apparatus for controlling the speed of aring spinning machine or the like, comprising means for varying the speed of themachine,'cam means driven in accordance with the relative oscillatory movement between the ring rail and the spindle, a control element driven by said cam means, a transmitting cable secured at one end to said control element and at the other end to said speed-varying means, said cable having a loop intermediate its ends, and means for varying the length of said loop in accordance with the progressively increasing diameter of the bobbin to control said speed-varying means independently of said control element.

4. Apparatus for controlling the speed of a ring spinning machine or the like, comprising means for varying the speed of the machine, cam means driven in accordance with the relative oscillaof said control element.

5. Apparatus for controlling the speed of a ring spinning machine or the like, comprising means for varying the speed of the machine, cam means driven in accordance with the relative oscillatory movement of the ring rail and the spindle, a control arm driven by said cam means, a transmitting cable secured at its respective ends to said control arm and said speed-varying means, a plurality of relatively movable sheaves, said cable having a loop portion supported by said sheaves intermediatelits ends, a pivoted arm for supporting one of said sheaves, and cam means for moving said pivoted arm in accordance with the progressively increasing diameter of the bobbin to vary the length of said cable loop and control said speed-varying means independently of said control arm.

6. Apparatus for controlling the speed of a ring spinning machine or the like, comprising means for varying the speed of the machine, cam

I means driven in accordance with the relative oscillatory movement between the ring rail and the spindle, a control arm driven by said cam means, a transmitting cable secured at its respective ends to said control arm and said speed-varying means, a plurality of relatively movable sheaves, said cable having a loop portion passing around said sheaves, and means for moving said sheaves relative to each other as the diameter or" the bobbin progressively increases to vary the length of said cable loop and control said speed-varying means in accordance with the diameter of the bobbin.

7 Apparatus for controlling the speed of a ring spinning machine or the like, comprising means for varying the speed of the machine, cam means driven in accordance with the relative oscillatory movement between the ring rail and the spindle, a control arm driven by said cam means, a transmitting cable secured at its respective ends to said control arm and to said speed-varying means, said cable having a loop intermediate said ends, means for supporting said cable loop whereby movement of said control arm is transmitted to said speed-varying means, means for moving said supporting means to vary the length of said loop in accordance with the progressively increasing diameter of the bobbin, whereby said speed varying means is controlled independently of said control element, and means for adjusting the initial position of said supporting means to vary the initial length or said loop, said adjusting means being proportioned to maintain constant the final length of said loop.

8. Apparatus for controlling the speed of a ring spinning machine or the like, comprising means for varying the speed of the machine, cam means driven in accordance with the relative oscillatory movement of the ring rail and the spindle, a control arm driven by said cam means, a transmitting cable secured at its respective ends to said control arm and said speed-varying means, a plurality of relatively movable sheaves, said cable having a loop portion supported by said sheaves intermediate its ends, a pivoted arm for supporting one of said sheaves, cam means for moving said pivoted arm in accordance with the progressively increasing diameter of the bobbin to vary the length of said cable loop and control said speed-varying means independently of said control arm, and means for adjusting the position of said one sheave relative to said pivoted arm.

9. Apparatus for controlling the speed of a ring spinning machine or the like, comprising means for varying the speed of the machine, cam means driven in accordance with the relative oscillatory movement of the ring rail and the spindle, a control arm driven by said cam means, a transmitting cable secured at its respective ends to said control arm and said speedvarying means, a plurality of relatively movable sheaves, said cable having a loop portion supported by said sheaves intermediate is ends, a piv- Oted arm, adjustable means for supporting one of said sheaves on said pivoted arm, and cam means for moving said pivoted arm in accordance with the progressively increasing diameter of the bobbin to vary the length of saidoable loop and control said speed-varying means independently of said control arm, said adjustable means comprising a slot in said arm engaged by said one sheave and so proportioned relative to the other sheaves that adjustment of said one sheave along said slot is efiective to vary the initial length of said cable loop without affecting the final length of said loop. l

10. In a ring spinning machine, in combination, a driving motor, a speed-controlling device for said motor, a builder lever, cam means driven by said builder lever, a control arm driven by said cam means, a transmitting cable secured at its respective ends to saidcontrol arm and to said speed-controlling device, an element progressively movable along said builder lever as the diameter of the bobbin increases, and means controlled by said progressively movable element for controlling the effective length of said cable independently of the movement imparted to said cable by said control arm.

11. In a ring spinning machine, in combination, a driving motor, a speed-controlling device for said motor, a builder lever, cam means driven by said builder lever, a control arm driven by said cam means, a transmitting cable secured at its respective ends to said control arm and to said speed-controlling device, an element progressively movable along said builder lever as the diameter of the bobbin increases, and cam means driven by said progressively movable element for controlling the effective length of said cable independently of the movement imparted to said cable by said control arm.

2. In a ring spinning machine, in combination, a driving motor, a speed-controlling device for said motor, a builder lever, cam means driven by said builder lever, a control arm driven by said cam means, a transmitting cable connected between said control arm and said speed-controlling device, an element progressively movable along said builder lever as the diameter of the bobbin increases, said transmitting cable having a looped portion intermediate its ends, and means controlled by said progressively movable element for varying the length of said loop to control said speed-controlling device independently of said control arm.

13.11 3, ring spinning machine, in combination, a driving motor, a speed-controlling device for said motor, a builder lever, cam means driven by said builder lever, a control arm driven by said cam means, an element progressively movable along said builder lever as the diameter of the bobbin increases, a plurality of relatively movable sheaves, cam means driven by said progressively movable element for moving said sheaves relative to each other, and a transmitting cable secured at its respective ends to said control arm and to said speed-controlling device with an intermediate portion thereof looped around said sheaves whereby said speed-control device is independently operated by said control arm and by said relatively movable sheaves.

14. In a ring spinning machine, in combination, a driving motor, a speed-controlling device for said motor, a builder lever, cam means driven by said builder lever, a control arm driven by said cam means, a transmitting cable secured at its respective ends to said control arm and to said speed-controlling device, said cam being shaped to operate said speed-controlling device during each traverse of said builder lever first to increase the speed during the beginning of a traverse, then to maintain said speed during a major portion of the traverse, and finally to decrease the speed at the end of the traverse, an element progressively movable along said builder lever as the diameter of the bobbin increases, and means controlled by said progressively movable element for varying the effective length of said cable to increase the base speed of the machine independently of the control imparted to said speed-controlling device by said control arm during each traverse of said builder lever.

GEORGE R. TOWNSEND. 

